Volume 3: Survival
By Shanil Misra Iridia was once a peaceful world, cohabited by Elves, Mermen and Dwarfs. Then Man arrived. The original inhabitants soon found that they could not coexist with Man and his many vices. The Elves fled to the forests, the Mermen the oceans and the Dwarfs the mountains. The magical creatures of Iridia, such as the unicorns and griffins, were hunted mercilessly. Dragons, annoyed by Man’s interference in their affairs, retreated to their vast network of caves to slumber. Man discovered magic, engaged in magical experimentation, and Arcane magic was formalized. Guilds of wizards were formed and were in high demand in all four kingdoms. Experimentation resulted in hybrid races and black magic, and practitioners of the Dark Arts were banned from all formal guilds. Senior wizards were highly sought after as protectors and advisers to royalty and nobility. All ethical wizards aspired towards guild memberships of the opulent port of Halibar, or the ancient city of Mount Grande. Two centuries ago, the first Wizard of Light was born, molded with Man’s attributes, but with a special affinity for the primal magical energy of Iridia. He called this cosmic energy the “Flow”, and found he was as attuned to the Flow as much as his other senses were attuned to his surroundings. Five other Wizards of Light were born since, each with primary powers aligned to his color of the Light. “The Six” became elite advisors to the royalty of Iridia. Then an ancient entity came to them in their dreams. It hungered for the Flow. It conveyed to them in their nightmares its primordial desire to devour the energies of the world itself. It needed to feed, and it needed them to prepare the world for its coming. The six split into factions of three. Red, Orange and Yellow chose the dark path and became pawns of their Master. Their leader, Rubeus of the Red, initiated the Great Purge. What followed were years of tyranny as the Elves, Dwarfs and other hybrid races were culled to the verge of extinction. The other faction of Blue, Indigo and Violet simply called the entity the “Evil”. This trio vowed to oppose the oppression of the Triad, before they split up. When the seventh wizard of Light - Viridian or Vee for short - grew up under the guidance of Azurean, he joined Mauve, the Protector of Halibar. Together, the three wizards of Light prepared Halibar for war. Tyrian chose to stay out of the war for fear of Lissandra’s life, the last of the elves, who had been captured by Rubeus. The Triad eventually attacked at the battle of Halibar, but were thwarted by Vee who used his heightened power over the Flow to save Halibar. Once the Evil arrived and had begun feeding upon the energies of the world, it was up to Mauve and the dragons to formulate a plan to defeat the Evil. To do so, they had to first oppose the Triad who had the help of the powerful dark wizard Limbar, and this was going to be no easy task. Dare they breach Mount Grande and lay siege upon an impregnable castle? The question of survival was on everyone’s minds… Had Vee survived Tyrian’s crazy attack and his fall from the cliffs? Had Lissandra survived being captured by Rubeus again, after a failed attempt to rescue her? Would Iridia survive the incessant and inexorable feeding by the Evil?